<p>(note this is for grad school not undergrad).</p>
<p>I feel like if people see my name they'll think that quiet obedient Asian kid who sits on the metro and says nothing. In addition to the fact that medical schools have racial quotas in general. I'm rebellious, a visionary, highly cosmopolitan and anti-insular but all of that means nothing when my given name oppresses me so. </p>
<p>In fact for a while I've been trying to informally change my name among my friends, to one that I feel more represents "me". I hate the name my parents gave me. And why did I have to be been born Asian? It is like, the worst race to be in America, if you want to do anything with your life.</p>
<p>But I figure if I change my name, it would make grad school apps a huge hassle, especially since I have to apply for financial assistance and I figure it might be way too much trouble.</p>
<p>Being Asian is not going to significantly hurt your chances. Admission ultimately will come down to the strength of your profile, especially for grad school.</p>
<p>I think there’s an often misconception that admission officers perceive the world with the lens of racial stereotyping. I’m not an admissions officer; however, I assure you that a good proportion of those who are, have surpassed the realm of seeing any persons in a stereotyped manner. </p>
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<p>=] Hon, don’t be ashamed of your Asian heritage and your name. I use to feel the same way. It’s difficult when society and the mass media marginalizes Asian people. Don’t listen to those voices and be true to yourself.</p>
<p>While the OP’s post seems ridiculous, you can’t deny that everyone tends to form immediate racial stereotypes based on people’s foreign sounding names, including Asian names, and connects those with the concept they have of a particular ethnicity before even knowing the person. If you need examples, I can bring up threads right on CollegeConfidential where the mentioning of someone being black or Asian led to unwarranted stereotyping. Talk to someone Islamic and see whether they’ve ever felt self conscious in the U.S. </p>
<p>The trick is to accept and embrace your ethinicity background, but what the OP wrote is an understandable concern among individuals of any minority group, and I can see why the he may feel this way.</p>
<p>Hey have some pride in yourself and your race. One of the saddest things is when minorities (im indian) get ashamed of who they are and wish they were white. </p>
<p>Medical schools don’t have racial quotas against asians. They want to train the best students to become doctors. Anyways, having quotas is a violation of the US constitution. </p>
<p>Last thing, we Asians actually have it just as good as anyone else. The worst race to be born into if you want to achieve success is black, Hispanic, or native American</p>
<p>If you are going to change your name legally, you want to do it before you graduate from college. That way you will be able to have your new legal name on your academic records and your diploma.</p>
<p>But honestly, don’t worry about this one. Grad school admission is not about having a “balanced” student body the way undergrad admissions can be. It’s about your grades, your LORs, your Statement of Purpose, your GRE scores, and any related work/internship/research/publications. They really don’t care what you look like or what your name is. They want to know if you are going to help them get another paper published!</p>
<p>I can, and do deny that <em>everyone</em> does this.</p>
<p>Sure, many people might read OP’s name and conclude that she is Asian, but that doesn’t mean we would think she is a "quiet obedient Asian kid who sits on the metro and says nothing. " In fact, it is insulting that you would assume that non-Asians would assume that.</p>
<p>Perhaps “stereotyping” is strong of a word, but gleaning ideas about a person based on initial perception, even perception of the name, is very natural :). You may not think of her as a “quiet obedient Asian kid who sits on the metro and says nothing” specifically, but some people must have done so, or else she would not have decided that the name itself carries a connotation that she’s uncomfortable with. As someone Asian I find the statement that “Asian is the worst race to be” and that the OP wants to change her name insulting and sad, but it’s understandable.</p>
<p>I didn’t mean to imply that only non-Asians would assume that. It applies to everybody.</p>